R. Scott VanKirk

R. Scott VanKirk has been devouring SF and Fantasy all his life. He has always been interested in writing but he has many interests which seemed like they might pay better and has indulged many of them over last few decades. He spent twenty years as a programming consultant. Most of that time was spent in Denver Colorado, but he spent a year in Curacao writing software for online Casinos and Sports-books. When the US decided that the only type of gambling they wanted to see was Lotto, Scott returned to the states and continued as a programmer for hire working on the bleeding edge of computer technology. It turns out that twenty years on the bleeding edge of technology was enough masochism for one life and Scott switched careers. Figuring that 'It's good to be the boss' was an excellent motto, Scott began starting companies. Being a cutting edge guy, Scott founded several companies around the cutting edge inventions of three mad scientists. He found out the hard way that mad scientists tend to believe more in themselves than physics. Around that time he also started a real estate investment company. 30 years of increasing property values made this seem like a good bet. He teamed up with a long time friend and gaming buddy to renovate broken down houses. It worked well for the first four houses so they bought 5 more. At that point the housing market crashed and Scott learned first hand the wonders of being a landlord of properties that were experiencing what is called in the biz, 'Negative Cash Flow.' While his other companies were languishing, Scott discovered the wonders of being a PV installer. The local utility company was paying big rebates and the Federal government instituted a 30% tax credit. PV took off in Denver like a chariot drawn by 50 horses. Soon, Scott discovered several things. First, basing your business off of a rebate from a company that viewed you as a leach to be destroyed is not the best business model. Second, doing construction really, really, really sucks. Third he found 'It's good to be the Boss' became increasingly inaccurate. The recession deeply wounded the company since it is hard to sell anything if no one has any money but the company soldiered on. Scott's solar career came to an abrupt end when the local utility company decided to stop offering rebates without warning. His company went from being a 5 million dollar company to zip practically overnight. Scott was crushed between the solar and the real estate crash and learned the joys of bankruptcy. Thus motivated to try something different, Scott is brushing off the large collection of story ideas that have occured to him over the years and is now in the process of writing them down. Scott now lives with his amazing and beautiful wife who provides more love and support than any three people. He also lives with his amazing and talented daughter and his equally amazing Mother. (Everyone who meets them agrees!) Author: This proves that God has a sense of humor. These are three of the most wonderful, kind, caring people on the planet and they got me.